POLICE have launched a consultation to “measure public opinion” on the use of CCTV in Dyfed Powys.

Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn made reinstating the cameras an election pledge.

And he raised the police portion of council tax last year to, among other reasons, bring back CCTV systems that were lost throughout Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Powys and Pembrokeshire.

The large CCTV system in Aberystwyth was mothballed by Ceredigion council in a cost-cutting move despite vehement opposition in April 2014, along with cameras across the county in a move which saved the authority £150,000 a year.

Calls for the system’s reinstatement have been repeatedly made ever since, amid fears over rising crime numbers and falling conviction rates.

Mr Llywelyn said he is raising the amount of money collected by police from the council tax to “move ahead” with his plans to “reinvest in CCTV”, but has yet to give any firm plans as to where in Dyfed-Powys the extra CCTV investment will be seen, or if Ceredigion will see its systems reinstated.

This week, Dyfed-Powys Police said it is launching a survey to “gauge responses to the planned reinstatement of a CCTV network”, adding it is “a key commitment” from the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The survey is available online at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DPPCCTVsurvey, while a hard copy can be requested by calling 01267 226283.

The survey will close at midnight on Tuesday, 10 July.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition tomorrow